The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently stated that millions of people worldwide fall sick due to consumption of food that’s contaminated and unsafe. Saima Wazed, the regional director at WHO, further informed that around 40 per cent of the affected people are children under five, who are already at a higher risk of malnutrition and mortality due to unsafe food. This statement came in the wake of World Food Safety Day, marked annually on June 7. “Every day, approximately 1.6 million people worldwide fall ill due to the consumption of unsafe food,” said Saima Wazed, as per a report in IANS.
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The Regional Director at WHO further informed that the contaminated food leads to reduced productivity, as a result, raising medical costs that happen due to foodborne illnesses. According to WHO, this amount leads to “an estimated annual loss of 110 billion dollars, in low-and middle-income countries.”
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According to the IANS report, Saima Wazed also informed that South-East Asia is the second most affected region after Africa, when it comes to contaminated food. One of the major reasons for the same is the tropical climate, which promotes the spread of pests and toxins, coupled with the impacts of climate change. “Food safety is a collective responsibility, and governments, producers, and consumers need to play their role in ensuring food safety,” she added, urging the world to promote safe food practices for better health.
World Food Safety Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, draws global attention towards food safety, inspiring actions to help prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats associated with unsafe food. The theme for World Food Safety Day 2024 is ‘prepare for the unexpected’.
About Somdatta SahaExplorer- this is what Somdatta likes to call herself. Be it in terms of food, people or places, all she craves for is to know the unknown. A simple aglio olio pasta or daal-chawal and a good movie can make her day.
